South Africa to Miss Vaccination Goal Due to Shots Shortage
- About 700,000 people to get Covid-19 inoculations by month-end
- Eight million vaccines are needed for priority groups
Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines are unloaded at O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
Photographer: Kim Ludbrook/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
South Africa is likely to miss its target of inoculating as many as 1.5 million people against the coronavirus by the end of this month because sufficient shots aren’t available, the nation’s deputy health minister said.
The country began dispensing Johnson & Johnson vaccines on Feb. 17 as part of a clinical trial that enabled it to bypass normal regulatory procedures. While the government has secured 11 million of the single-dose J&J shots, 20 million vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and additional supplies through the Covax facility and the African Union, they aren’t due to arrive as soon as the government had hoped.